June 9th: First Encounter With the Orca Behavior Institute

At Reed College, I did an undergraduate senior thesis on killer whale acoustics and published a paper in a peer-reviewed journal as a result of that work. While going on to graduate school wasn't right for me, I've still wanted to stay involved in orca research, and have done so at a surface level by blogging about a lot of the science here as well as sharing graphs of information I've compiled about whale sightings and salmon numbers over the years. A couple years ago, I met another Reed College student, Michael, who is spending summers on San Juan Island doing killer whale research in preparation for his senior thesis. After working together last summer and discussing numerous short and long term research projects, this spring we decided to formalize our research efforts under the Orca Behavior Institute (OBI).

On June 9th, the same day we got our boat back in the water, we headed out in the evening hoping to encounter the J- and L-Pod whales that had been around throughout the day. When we saw some other whale-watching boats we knew we were in the right area, but after stopping and scanning for several minutes we wondered where the whales were. The glassy calm seas gave us great distance for spotting, but we didn't see any fins! Until, that is, a huge group of whales surfaced, all rolling around together with Mt. Baker in the background.

Js and Ls were all mixed up in a highly playful social group.

While the mixed up, highly active whales weren't the easiest circumstances for trying out our data collection methods, we weren't complaining! It was everything we could have hoped for for our first research encounter (OBI #1). In addition to taking hundreds of photographs that helped us figure out who was who later, we took over two hours of behavioral data and made four hydrophone recordings. You can hear a two minute excerpt of one of our recordings here.

While most of the whales were in one big group, some others were further off, but soon came in to join the fun. Here's J51 speeding towards the big group of whales with the rest of the J19s.

Little J51, about four months old

L87 Onyx also made his way towards the bigger group from offshore:

L87 Onyx

Adult males often like to hang out together in mixed pod gatherings, and it's always an impressive sight to see multiple huge fins right next to each other:

L95 Nigel (left), who has grown a lot over the winter, and J27 Blackberry

The whales were slowly making their way north through Haro Strait, but very slowly - mostly they were playing around at the surface!

Tail slap by L118 Jade

Watching a whale "cuddle puddle" is just about the greatest way to watch whales:

Finally, closer to sunset, the whales started to get more serious about traveling, but stayed in a large group. It's hard to take a bad photo when there are so many whales at the surface at once:

Needless to say, the research crew was all smiles at the end of the day:

OBI#1 research team: Monika, Michael, and Julie

Our data collection this summer will help Michael's undergraduate thesis, but we also have some longer term research planned. Our key research questions focus on the changing social associations of the whales, acoustic communication, and behavioral responses to prey availability. Additionally, last November Michael presented some of our preliminary work at the ACS conference in Long Beach, and based on feedback he received there we are writing up last summer's work for our first publication. Right now this is 100% a labor of love, as we've invested in the boat and hydrophone and are donating our time. Since people have expressed interest in helping us defray the costs of gas, moorage, and boat maintenance, we've set up a GoFundMe account here. Any help you may be able to provide is much appreciated!

The first week of the OBI field season was whale-filled to say the least. Stay tuned for lots of photos form our next few research encounters.

May 23 - June 5: Whale Sightings Update!

I've gotten behind on sharing whale sightings from the last two weeks! So here's a mega catch up all in one go.

On May 23rd, I saw J-Pod head north in Haro Strait....

The J17s off Land Bank's Westside Preserve

...and a couple of paddle boarders got a little more than they bargained for!

He gives you an idea of just how big J31 Tsuchi is!

Js spent the next bunch of days way up north, but I caught them when they cruised back south on May 28th.

J37 Hy'shqa swims by the rocks at Lime Kiln

On the morning of June 3rd, some of L-Pod showed up! Js were back up north, but the L4s, L47s, and L95 did the westside shuffle throughout the day. This is the same day some of L-Pod showed up in inland waters last year, and the first time they've been "in" since they were heard on the hydrophones with K-Pod the night of January 8th. I caught them off the west side first thing in the morning.

L27 Ophelia and L82 Kasatka in Haro Strait on the morning of June 3rd

J-Pod was a day late for their date with Ls. They came FLYING down from the north, traveling from Qualicom Beach to Lime Kiln (over 100 miles) in about 24 hours. They went porpoising past Lime Kiln in the afternoon on June 4th, but Ls had apparently already left as they weren't seen that day.

J41 Eclipse and her son J51 cruise past Lime Kiln on June 4

It's hard to photograph porpoising whales, so I tried taking a few wide angle shots

Some of the whales were way offshore, including this breacher

When Js didn't come back up on the evening of June 4th, I figured it could be a good early morning on the west side. After being overcast for a bunch of days the sun was finally shining first thing in the morning. When I got out to Lime Kiln at 7 AM, Js were in the middle of passing by. These are some of my favorite moments: those mornings when the water is glassy calm, the light is stunning as the sun just peaks over the island, and all is quiet except for the sound of whales breathing. No boats, no people....just me and the whales.

J45 Se-Yi'-Chn and J31 Tsuchi

J26 Mike

J36 Alki and her son J52

The whales were very spread out and traveling very slowly - for a long time after they passed I could still see them just milling off the point to the north of the lighthouse. Finally it seemed like they were heading north, so I went up to San Juan County Park since it looked like they were getting closer to shore. Many of the whales had grouped up and were just milling off the park up there, with the Olympic Mountains in the background.

While I was there, they turned and started heading back south. So much for breakfast! Back to Lime Kiln :)

A tender moment between J37 Hy'shqa and her younger brother J45 Se-Yi'-Chn

While Hy'shqa and her brother Se-Yi'-Chn were rolling around together, Hy'shqa's son J49 T'ilem I'nges was hanging out with his aunt J40 Suttles. T'ilem I'nges ended up right in the middle of the fray while J26 Mike decided to pursue Suttles with amorous intentions!

J26 Mike and his "sea snake" going after J40 Suttles (you can see the little dorsal fin of T'ilem I'nges to the left of Mike's pec fin)

J26 Mike lifts J40 Suttles out of the water

J26 Mike lunges after J40 Suttles

As you can see, it's been a pretty good couple of weeks for orca sightings! I thought I had better take this chance to catch up on sharing photos here, in the hopes that there are many more whale encounters to come!

One more startling observation from this morning....I knew there wasn't a lot of snow this winter, but it was amazing to see how little snow was on the Olympic Mountains across the way. Indirectly this is bad news for our salmon-eating whales. Snow melt provides crucial water for spawning salmon, and without enough water in the streams, salmon returns will be low.

Not much snow on the Olympic Mountains in June

May 22: Baby Foxes and A Baby Whale

After being around a lot in late April and the first couple days of May, J-Pod took a two week leave of absence from the Salish Sea. When they returned to inland waters on May 17, they kept their visits to the west side under the cover of darkness more often than not, so it wasn't until May 22 I was able to catch up with them again.

Early on the 22nd J-Pod hadn't been located yet, so I went for a walk down at American Camp, thinking I might find them off the south end and also hoping to find some fox kits to photograph. The whales weren't there, but I did find a trio of kits!

One of the things I love about fox kits, other their innate cuteness, is that they're mutually curious. Look at that face!

I just sat down on the grass, and they came over to check me out!

In addition to these orange and black ones, there was a gray one who mostly stayed a little bit further away:

I took so many photos of these guys, it's hard to narrow down which ones to share!

Later on, we came head to head on the trail with an adult fox who was carrying a snake. He stopped not far from us, and I suspected he didn't want to detour into the tall grasses, so we stepped off to the side of the trail and he ran right by us, not two feet away!

Umm, please get out of my way? This is my trail.

When there was still no sign of Js on the west side in the afternoon, I figured they were going to stay up north for another day, but then I heard from a friend they had made a switch and were coming down! The first few whales got to Lime Kiln just before sunset.

As is often the case, little J50 was quite a ways away from mama - her independence, along with the wicked rake marks she may have gotten from a difficult birth, lead me to think of this little whale as being very spunky, and a true fighter, which is just what this population needs!

5 month old J50 cruising by Lime Kiln in the sunset

A gull was also circling overhead carrying something, so I snapped a photo, and saw later it was carrying three fish! Impressive!

This is also a good time to note my few additions to my year list as spring has carried on: Swainson's thrush (159), Cassin's vireo (160), and black-headed grosbeak (161) - all first identified by song and "heard only", though I'd get nice looks at the vireos later and a grosbeak pair has become an occasional visitor to our feeders.

J-Pod would overnight off the south end of the island, and it would take some patience, but they finally made their way back north on May 23rd. Photos of that encounter next!

A Voice for the Southern Residents in DC

Since last fall, I've been working with the Southern Resident Killer Whale Chinook Salmon Initiative to lobby for the breaching of the four lower Snake River dams as a measure to help generate more salmon for our endangered whales. In addition to promoting this petition which now has over 12,000 signatures (please sign and share if you haven't already), I've been spreading information about the dams in any way I can. This has included writing a blog post about why now is the time to breach the dams back in February, which has received over 1300 views, and also giving an impromptu talk about the killer whales with some friends while we were down in Baja in March.

Some fantastic people from the Baja trip have gotten involved in the campaign, and have been helping to spread the message among some of their political friends. As a result, they got some meetings with some people in Washington, DC, and along with a couple of others I was invited along.

Those of you who know me know how hard it is for me to get on an airplane. For many years I didn't fly at all, and it's taken some pretty compelling reasons to get back on a plane (like, say, the chance to kiss a wild gray whale). While flying across the country will never be on my list of favorite activities, the chance to be a voice for the killer whales in Washington, DC was too good of one to pass up. With the much needed support and encouragement from many, I decided to go - and to take Breacher, a killer whale from home with me.

Breacher on the ferry leaving Friday Harbor

Luckily we had fairly smooth flights across the country - including a beautiful look at the Rocky Mountains, and a nice sunset leaving Detroit:

The Rocky Mountains from 30,000 feet

I had never been to DC before, so while it was a whirlwind of a trip, I also made sure to take a little time to see some of the sights.

Keith, Breacher, and me in front of the White House

The Washington Monument

The World War II Memorial

The Lincoln Memorial

A lot of areas were under construction, but I could still tell that the National Mall is a beautiful part of our nation. It was very cool to visit a world center - a place I wouldn't usually go, and quite a contrast to Friday Harbor!

One of many beautiful park settings in the middle of the city

The National Gallery of Art

One of two clashing centennial demonstrations that happened April 24th: one was a memorial for the 100 year anniversary of the killing of over a million Armenians in Turkey, and the other (pictured), a Turkish memorial for the World War I Gallipoli military campaign that was also encouraging people to "Stand with Turkey".

The display in the main foyer of the National Museum of Natural History - I was pleasantly surprised to find that admission to this amazing Smithsonian museum is free

The main focus of our trip, however, was our meetings. While there has been major progress in the advocating for the removal of these dams - an effort that has been going on for almost 20 years - the Washington State senators still need to be convinced. The economic and biological facts are clearly on our side, but the lobbying still needs to happen in what has traditionally been a pro-dam state.

Coincidentally we were there right when Patagonia released a full-page ad in Washington State papers encouraging people to contact Cantwell and Murray:

The text of the ad sums it up well: 

"Let's envision a future that works for farmers, fishermen, tribes, salmon, orcas, you and the natural world. One that creates thousands of local jobs, restores recreational opportunities, saves taxpayers money, and invests in cleaner energy alternatives.

Four deadbeat dams on the lower Snake River stand squarely in the way of that future, their costs far outweighing the small amount of electricity they generate and transportation they provide. Lower-impact alternatives do exist and in the long run, they're a helluva lot cheaper.

We completed the three largest dam removals in history on Washington's Elwha River and White Salmon River, enabling salmon and steelhead to reach historic habitat for the first time in 100 years and resulting in celebrations that echoed around the world. Now it's time to do the same on the lower Snake River, bringing our nation's greatest salmon river back to life.

More than 70,000 people from all over the world recently signed a petition to President Obama to remove the dams. But the feds want to see support from the leadership of Washington State. A phone call from you to the Senators Cantwell and Murray is the most powerful way to get that support. 

Tell your senators, 'Don't hold back on jobs, salmon, recreation, savings, and clean energy. Let's take down the dams on the lower Snake River.'

Senator Maria Cantwell

206-220-64000

Senator Patty Murray

206-553-5545

Learn more at

damnationfilm.com"

If you're in Washington, please take a moment to make those phone calls today!